


Nice to Meet You, Ms. Smoak

by orphan_account



Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: F/M, Kid Fic
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-03-02
Updated: 2014-03-02
Packaged: 2018-01-14 07:10:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,403
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1257448
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Oliver Queen is a single dad, who's daughter is starting kindergarten. When he meets her teacher, Ms. Smoak, things start to get interesting.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Nice to Meet You, Ms. Smoak

Oliver shook his head as he saw the post-it notes Laurel had covered the fridge with the night before, when she’d dropped off their daughter.

_She needs to take a lunch. Something healthy!_

_Don’t forget her backpack. And her supplies. And her extra change of clothes._

_Pick up a gift for her teacher. Make a good impression._

_DO NOT BE LATE._

He knew all of that, of course. They’d been talking about Mia’s first day of school for over a month. They were suppose to take her together, but Laurel’s office scheduled a business trip at the last minute, which meant it was Oliver’s responsibility.

Responsibility. It wasn’t long ago that Oliver being associated with that word would have made just about anyone laugh. When Laurel had gotten pregnant almost six years ago, Oliver wanted to cut and run. He wasn’t father material, or husband material. But his father made it clear that wasn’t an option. He was glad for that. Despite he and Laurel not making their marriage work, he didn’t have any regrets. They’d tried, but they were better friends and co-parents.

Co-parents to the most amazing little girl in the world, as far as Oliver was concerned.

Mia Dinah Queen came into the world on a Wednesday, in the early AM. She weighed 7 lbs, 5 oz. She was so quiet when she was born that Oliver almost passed out from holding his breath waiting for her first cry.

She changed his life.

Oliver and Laurel’s marriage lasted two years. They loved each other, loved their daughter, and wanted to make it work, but in the end- Laurel didn’t trust Oliver, the result of various infidelities while they were dating, and Oliver was tired of trying to prove he’d changed. The divorce had strained their relationship for a few months, until Tommy and Thea had managed to mediate a cease-fire. Once they sat down and talked through what they wanted, for them and for Mia, their relationship was strengthened in a way it never had been.

Since then, Mia split her time between her parents. Laurel often worked long hours at CNRI, so Oliver would pick Mia up from daycare and spend the evenings with her until Laurel picked her up. They also spent every other weekend together. He missed her when she was gone, but the arrangement worked for them. Although he had to admit that he was selfishly happy that Laurel had her business trip and he was getting to experience Mia’s first day of kindergarten with her by himself.

Mia came running into the kitchen while Oliver was making breakfast.

"Daddy!" She skittered to a stop in front of him, her socks slipping on the floor ever so slightly, causing Oliver to reach out to catch her if she fell. "It’s time for school!"

Oliver chuckled. “Not yet”, he reminded her gently. “We still have to have breakfast, get you dressed, and stop by the store. Then it’s school time.”

Mia nodded in understanding as she stood on her tiptoes to get a peek at what he was making. “Pancakes?”, she asked for confirmation, looking at him. He nodded. “With chocolate chips?” Always with chocolate chips.

"Of course", he assured her, leaning to kiss the top of her head. "Now go on, put on the outfit your mom picked." He shooed her away from the kitchen, towards her room. "It’ll be ready soon." Mia smiled and ran back down the hall.

The phone rang as Oliver was flipping a pancake, and he shook his head when he saw who was calling. “Good morning, Laurel.”

She sighed in relief. “Good, you’re awake.”

He laughed, shaking his head. “I’ve got this”, he told her, for what felt like the hundredth time.

"I know", she replied. "I know, I just- You know me."

He did. “It’s okay”, he said, letting her off the hook. “We’re just about to eat breakfast.” He started walking towards Mia’s room, anticipating her next question.

"Can I talk to her?" Oliver smiled as he heard the request, and held the phone out to his daughter. "It’s your mom", he told her, and Mia jumped up excitedly to take the phone.

He went back to the kitchen while they talked and finished breakfast. When Mia reappeared with his phone, she was dressed for school. Her hair, however, was a mess. Oliver picked up the hairbrush and hair ties he’d already set aside, and directed her to a chair.

"Ponytail?", he asked, standing behind her and pulling the brush through her hair.

"Pigtails", was the reply. Oliver separated her hair into low pigtails, using Mia’s favorite pink bird hair ties to secure them. "Eat up, kiddo", he told her as he finished. "We leave in 15 minutes."

They arrived at Star Elementary 30 minutes later. Oliver held a gift for Mia’s teacher in one hand, Mia’s hand in the other. The halls were busy with other parents and students. Mia clung to his hand tightly, feeling shy as she looked around at all the other kids her age. The first day of kindergarten was a special school day, so they were the only students there.

They found Room 3A, Mia’s classroom, and went inside to meet the teacher. Oliver swept the room for person in question, a Ms. Smoak. Laurel had met her when she had registered Mia for school, but Oliver hadn’t. He was having trouble identifying her in the sea of parents, and his search was interrupted when he locked eyes with a pretty young woman.

She was looking at him inquisitively, as though trying to place him. He wondered if she recognized him as “Oliver Queen”, from his old tabloid days, and hoped that she hadn’t. She smiled as her eyes moved to Mia, and she walked towards them. Oliver shifted nervously, hoping to avoid any embarrassing run ins on his daughter’s first day.

"Hello", the woman said as she reached them. "It’s nice to meet you." She held out her hand, and Oliver reached out to shake it, realizing as he did that he was holding a potted plant Mia had picked out to give her teacher.

"Sorry",  he said, as he tried to shift the plant to under his arm. "Gift for the teacher."

Her smile brightened. “Oh! Then I’ll take that.” She gently removed the plant from his arms and set it down on a vacant desk. “Thank you”, she said, turning to Mia. “I love it.”

Mia smiled shyly as Oliver struggled to comprehend what had happened. She was the teacher. “Ms. Smoak?”, he confirmed, not sure why the idea of her being Mia’s teacher was giving him so much trouble.

She nodded, reaching up to fix her glasses that had slipped slightly down her nose. “And you must be Mr. Queen. I know we haven’t met, but your wife gave me a picture of Mia when she registered her, for our class board, so I knew it must be you.”

 _Wife? No, that wasn’t right._  ”We’re not married”, he said hastily, then looked guiltily at Mia. She wasn’t paying them any attention, her gaze wandering about the room, and even if she had been- she never expressed any sadness about them not being together. Their unconventional family never felt lacking.

Ms. Smoak nodded in understanding. Divorced parents weren’t uncommon. “Mia’s mother, then. Is she here with you?” She looked around them for some sign of the woman she had met.

"No", Oliver said. "She had a last minute business trip. It’s just us."

She smiled. “Alright, then let me show you two around the room.” She bent to get a more direct look at Mia. “Tell me, Mia, do you like turtles?”

Mia’s eyes widened and she nodded excitedly. When Oliver said goodbye to Mia, she was still gawking at the class pets, along with a group of other children. Ms. Smoak smiled at him reassuringly as he reluctantly stepped away from his daughter.

"She’ll be fine, Mr. Queen", Ms. Smoak told him gently, leading him to the door.

He nodded. “I know”, he said. “I’m just not so sure about me.” He chuckled, swallowing the emotion that was welling in his throat. “Thank you, Ms. Smoak.”

"Felicity", she offered. Oliver’s brows gathered in confusion, not understanding her meaning. "My name. You can call me Felicity."

 _Oh. That’s a pretty_   _name_ , he thought. “Then you should call me Oliver.”


End file.
